Journal of Sports and Motor Development and Learning

Abstract Introduction: The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of virtual reality training on gross and fine motor skills in children with developmental coordination disorder.
Methods: In this semi-experimental study with a repeated measures design, 24 boys aged 7 to 10 years from Tehran diagnosed with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) were selected based on inclusion criteria and randomly assigned to two groups: virtual reality training and control. Participants completed the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOT-2) at pretest. The intervention phase lasted six weeks, with three 20-minute sessions per week, during which the virtual reality group performed the prescribed training program while the control group engaged in their usual daily activities. A posttest was conducted in the final session.
Results: The results showed that virtual reality training led to a significant improvement in both gross and fine motor skills in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) (p < 0.05). Additionally, the findings indicated that the improvements in gross and fine motor skills were maintained in both short-term and long-term follow-up tests (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the results, virtual reality training can likely be used in clinical and home programs to improve gross and fine motor skills in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), as it can stimulate interest and promote active participation.

Abstract Introduction: Considering the prevalence of visual-motor disorders among preterm children and the importance of visual-motor skills in performing daily tasks, A reliable and valid tool is needed to measure these skills in preterm children. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the test of visual-motor skills- 3^rd edition (TVMS-3) in preterm children.
Methods: For this purpose, 2100 students were selected from 7 to 12-year-old students across the country by multi-stage cluster random sampling method. Among these students, 376 preterm children who were born before 32 weeks of pregnancy or with a very low weight (1500 grams) were included in the research. The measurement tool of this study was the Persian version of TVMS-3, which was implemented in two stages, three weeks apart, on the research samples Also, the Bender Gestalt test was performed on the subjects in the first stage. Cronbach's alpha method was used to determine internal consistency or internal reliability, the intra-class correlation coefficient method was used to determine temporal reliability, and a one-way analysis of variance was used to determine construct validity and differences between groups. Pearson's correlation coefficient was also used to check the convergent validity.
Results: The results of this study indicate the appropriate validity of the TVMS-3 for all 7 to 12-year-old age groups of preterm children. Also, the results of this study indicate the desirable and acceptable internal consistency and temporal reliability or reproducibility of this test.
Conclusion: The TVMS-3 has appropriate validity and reliability for screening and identifying preterm children with visual-motor skills disorders.

Abstract Introduction: In recent studies, balance and postural instability have been reported as a common motor disorder in Parkinson's patients, which leads to frequent falls, decreased quality of life, and mortality in these patients. On the other hand, evidence has shown that training is effective in treating motor and cognitive symptoms of neurodegenerative patients.
Methods: For this purpose, 24 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups of eight rats including Healthy Control, Parkinson’s Control, and Parkinson’s Training. The animals in the training group were placed on a treadmill for four weeks. At the end of the course, motor disorders (balance and motor behavior) were evaluated using Rotarod and Open-Field tests, and biochemical factors were assessed by ELISA method. Data analysis was done using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test at a significant level of P<0.05, via SPSS version 19 software.
Results: The results showed that although the Parkinson's group without training was significantly lower in terms of motor performance than the other groups (P<0.05), four weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic training increased the balance (P<0.05), and improved the motor disorders in Parkinson's rats (P<0.05). Also, training significantly increased the amount of serotonin (P<0.05), and tyrosine hydroxylase (P<0.05).
Conclusion: In general, the findings of this study showed that moderate-intensity aerobic training can reduce the biochemical and motor disorders induced by 6-hydroxydopamine injections in rats’ models of Parkinson's disease.

Abstract Introduction: This research aimed to investigate the effect of physical training and selective and compulsory observational pattern on the intrinsic motivation and cognitive learning of basketball jump shot skill with the approach of basic psychological demands.
Methods: Eighty male students (18-22 years old) were selected voluntarily and based on their pre-test scores, were randomly divided into four Self-Control, Paired, Experimenter-Control, and Control groups (20 people in each group). To examine the motivation level, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), and to examine the cognitive learning level, Recall Questionnaire (adapted from Knudson, 1993) was used. An educational video of the expert model that showed the movement components was presented to the participants. A retention test was conducted 24 hours later. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the data (p≥0.05).
Results: The results showed that in the acquisition phase, the level of intrinsic motivation of the participants to learn the basketball jump shot skill in the Self-Control observation condition was significantly higher than the participants in the Paired and Control conditions. Also, in the retention phase, the level of intrinsic motivation in the Self-Control observation condition was significantly higher than in other experimental conditions. In addition, in the acquisition and retention phases of cognitive learning (recall success), the participants in the Self-Control observation condition scored significantly higher than the participants in the Paired and Control conditions.
Conclusion: In general, the results of this study show that motivation affects learning. Also, task demonstration as a whole-part-whole is an effective and efficient method in the cognitive phase.

Abstract Background. An adolescent’s level of motor competence is important to assess as can impact on a range of daily functions and participation in physical activities. Formal assessments of motor competence can be time consuming and costly. One alternative is to use self-report questionnaires to screen for level of motor competence. Aim: This study examines the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Adolescent Motor Competence Questionnaire (AMCQ) and differences between adolescent boys and girls. Method: Three evaluative stages were completed to translate the items into Persian, which included back translations by 4 native English and Persian speakers and 10 expert reviews. A total of 470 adolescents aged 12-18 years old (mean age 14.22 ± 1.64) from the Ray schools district completed the 26-item AMCQ. A subsample of 30 adolescents completed the AMCQ after 1 week for retest. Results: The content validity index (CVI=0.98) was strong. The results of exploratory factor analysis identified 4 factors and the results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that items with a suitable factor load (0.95-0.65) on the four factors. The results revealed the AMCQ had high internal consistency (0.940), and acceptable test-retest reliability (r=0.885). When considering gender, boys had higher AMCQ scores compared to girls. The boy’s scores were related to the factors of ‘participating in physical activity and sport’ and ‘peer comparisons’. Conclusion. The results of this study show that the Persian version of AMCQ can be used as a valid tool to assess Iranian adolescence motor competence.

Abstract Measuring different types of aggression (such as physical, verbal) and its functions (such as Reactive/Proactive) in individuals with developmental disabilities, especially adolescents and adults, has received little attention. In this study, we investigated the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Children’s Scale of Hostility and Aggression: )Reactive/Proactive) in individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder in different age groups. For this purpose, C-SHARP questionnaire, child behavior checklist (CBCL) and reactive/Proactive aggression questionnaire were filled out by different age groups with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. Different types of validity were determined with test-retest and Cronbach's alpha for its external and internal reliability. Correlation between C-SHARP, CBCL and reactive/Proactive aggression questionnaire was also used to assess the validity of the C-SHARP scale. The correlation coefficient between C-SHARP subscales and CBCL Externalizing was higher than internalized CBCL. Individuals classified with the reactive/Proactive aggression questionnaire as both Reactive and Proactive have higher C-SHARP Proactive Scores than individuals classified as Reactive only or Reactive or Non- Proactive. For C-SHARP reaction scores, a similar pattern was observed for proactive scores. The results of this study provided evidence for the validity of C-SHARP by confirming the content validity and its relationship with valid scales, which shows that C-SHARP is useful for measuring different types of aggressive behavior in different age groups with developmental disabilities

Abstract The aim of this study was to compare motor skills and body mass index of male students (7 to 10 years old) with and without internet addiction. Participants included 150 students with internet addiction and 150 students without internet addiction. After their parents filled out the consent forms and the students' personal information was recorded, the groups firstly were identified by the Kimberly Young Internet Addiction Questionnaire. Body mass index of participants were recorded by stadiometer and scale, and then their motor skills were assessed by the Bruininks - Oseretsky test. To classify the data, measures of central tendency and dispersion in the descriptive statistics were used. To analyze the data, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and independent t test were used in the inferential statistics. All research analysis was investigated at the significance level (P<0.05). The results showed significant differences in gross and fine motor skills, motor proficiency as well as body mass index between students with and without internet addiction, that is to say children with internet addiction showed poorer performance in gross and fine motor skills and motor proficiency. Also, they had more body mass index. Internet addiction may be accompanied with obesity and poor performance in gross motor skills. Therefore, it is recommended that the necessary steps should be taken to prevent these problems.

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the effect of social-comparative feedback on acquisition and consolidation of a perceptual-motor skill in high school male students. In this study, 36 high school students as the sample were randomly assigned to three groups (each group 12 subjects): positive, negative and veridical social-comparative feedback. Pretest scores were recorded. Acquisition phase lasted five days and each subjects daily performed 10 blocks of 3 trials of badminton long serve. After each block, they received the feedback of their mean scores in the form of positive (higher than the actual score), negative (lower than the actual score) and veridical (the actual score) given the group to which they belonged. After 72 hours of detraining, consolidation test was performed under the same conditions as the pretest. After determining the data normality and homogeneity of variances, ANOVA with repeated measures, one-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test were used to analyze data at the significance level of P≤0.05. The results showed that training improved the performance of groups in the acquisition phase. But there was no significant difference in the performance of the groups. The consolidation of positive feedback group was significantly better than the other groups. These findings suggest that positive social-comparative feedback affects the consolidation of a perceptual-motor skill such as targeted badminton long serve skill.  

Abstract The aim of this study was to compare the transfer of proactive learning between front and back crawl swimming skills in female beginners. 60 students who had registered in elementary swimming course were selected and assigned to four groups (two experimental and two control groups). Experimental groups learned a primary task (front or back crawl swimming) for 10 sessions and then learned the secondary task (front or back crawl swimming; contrary to the primary task). The participants of control groups participates only in secondary task. The results showed that amount of proactive transfer from front crawl to back crawl was 3.06% which was not statistically significant (P=0.977) while the amount of transfer from back crawl to front crawl was 13.45% which was statistically significant (P=0.013). On the other hand, to compare the amount of transfer of these two types of swimming, the results of U Mann Whitney test showed that the amount of proactive transfer of back crawl to front crawl was significantly higher than the amount of transfer of front crawl to back crawl (P=0.001). Therefore, these results support the sequence of back-front crawl swimming instruction in beginners.

Abstract Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a motor disorder which involves gross and fine motor skills and coordination. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a period of selected physical activity on improving gross motor skills in female children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). In this semi-experimental study, the sample consisted of 30 students with DCD who were selected from 400 female children in second grade of elementary school in Shiraz city by a researcher-made questionnaire and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). The subjects were divided randomly into control (n=15) and experimental (n=15) groups after the pretest using Ulrich test for gross motor skills version 2000 (TGMD2). The experimental group performed the selected motor program for 12 sessions (3 days a week, 45 minutes per day) while the control group had their normal daily activities. Then, a posttest was held for both groups. The analysis of variance 2´2 was used for data analysis (P≤0.05). The results showed that selected physical activity had a significant effect on improving gross motor skills in children with DCD (P=0.001). Therefore, it is suggested that selected physical activities should be available for teachers and should be performed in physical education courses at schools in order to improve gross motor skills and consequently improve developmental coordination disorder in children

Abstract  
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of selected spark exercises on balance and coordination in autistic children. This study was semi-experimental. 12 autistic children (mean age 5-12 years) participated in this study. The subjects performed the intervention for 3 months based on selected spark exercises. The participants were evaluated in 3 stages (baseline, pretest and posttest) by Bruininks-Oseretsky test in terms of motor skills. Friedman test was used to analyze repeated measures of nonparametric data. The results showed that selected spark exercises significantly improved dynamic balance (P<0.001) and bilateral coordination (P<0.001). It can be generally stated that these selected spark exercises have a positive effect on the improvement of motor deficiencies in autistic children.  

Abstract   Dyad training is a method in which pair groups participate in learning motor skills and it seems that it could be characterized as an optimal instructional environment through enhancing effectiveness and efficiency of training conditions. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of dyad training on learning front crawl swimming. Twenty 7-10-year-old boys were assigned to two groups of dyad and individual training (each group 10 subjects). After receiving instructions and observing the perfect skill, subjects were paired; one half entered the water to perform the required skill and the other half stayed outside and like a coach gave his partner a feedback on his performance after observing his trial. After some trials, they exchanged their roles. However, after receiving instructions and observing the perfect model, all children in individual group entered the water and simultaneously performed the required skill. In the retention test, each child’s 10 m swimming was filmed and these clips were evaluated by 2 federation coaches using front crawl swimming checklist. The inter class correlation coefficient was 0.90. The results of retention test showed a significant difference between dyad and individual groups (P<0.05). So it can be concluded that dyad training method is not only economical in terms of energy consumption and instructional environment but also more effective compared with the traditional swimming instruction methods.

Abstract   Motivation is one of those factors affecting the success and quality of athletic performance. However, limited research has been conducted on the motivational traits of Iranian athletes. This study aimed at describing the motivational traits of skilled and novice athletes of team and individual sports in some selected sports fields. Players of national teams of the individual sports of karate, taekwondo, fencing, badminton, sailing and team sports of basketball, volleyball, Dragon boat, handball and futsal were purposively selected as the population of skilled athletes and 60 athletes were randomly selected from all above selected sports fields from some selected provinces as the sample of novice athletes. Data from the Sport Attitudes Inventory (SAI) were classified according to team and individual sports and players were classified according to novice and skilled levels and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Inferential statistical results of ANOVA showed that competitive motivation was significantly higher in skilled and novice athletes of individual sports than team sports and it was higher in skilled athletes than novice athletes (P<0.05). 

Abstract One of the basic motor skills in childhood is manipulation skills. Gross motor manipulation is a person's relationship with the objects and has this feature: force is applied to an object or the force of an object is absorbed. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a selected motor program including team traditional games as motor experiences on manipulation skills development in boys aged between 6 and 8 (1^st to 3^rd grade of elementary school) in deprived areas. In this semi-experimental study, 20 children were selected from the male children in deprived areas of Andimeshk city purposively by convenience sampling method through a personality questionnaire. Firstly, they were pretested with Ulrich Gross Motor Development Test. The subjects were randomly matched in two groups: 10 kids in experiment group and 10 kids in control group. Then the selected motor program was executed for 24 sessions, 45 minutes each session for 8 weeks. During the execution of the program, the control group performed their usual activities. After the end of the program, both groups were post-tested. After checking the normality of the data and equality of variances, data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance and one-way ANOVA in the context of MANOVA. Results showed that traditional games had a positive effect on development of manipulation skills (F_6.4=30.75, sig=0.003, ƞ2=0.979). So an opportunity can be provided for children to train and increase the development of their basic manipulation skills and their movement by encouraging them to play proper games and enriching the environment.

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of forced physical exercise with moderate intensity on Alzheimer-induced amnesia in adult male rats. 48 male Wistar- Albino rats were randomly selected and assigned to 6 groups (n=8 per group): control, placebo (saline), drug-exercise, saline-exercise, exercise and exercise-drug. In this study, Dicyclomine (16 mg/kg) was used to induce Alzheimer-like amnesia and moderate exercise (60 minutes per day × 30 days). The rats were trained and tested using Morris water maze­. The findings showed that the group receiving Dicyclomine increased­ delay in reaching the platform­ in acquisition (P=0.044) and recall (P=0.031) compared with exercise, control and saline groups. But there were no significant differences between exercise and exercise-saline groups compared with exercise-Dicyclomine group. Also, a significant difference (delay in reaching the platform) was observed between Dicyclomine-exercise, saline-exercise compared with Dicyclomine in acquisition (P=0.005) and recall (P=0.002). In conclusion, this study showed that memory and learning in the acquisition and recall phases were destroyed by Dicyclomine and 30 sessions of moderate-intensity running (forced) could prevent memory corruption.

Abstract This study aimed at investigating the effect of blocked, incremental systematic and random contextual interferences on acquisition, retention and transfer of volleyball skills based on changes in a generalized motor program. In fact, this study was conducted to answer this question that whether regular increment of contextual interference level is more effective on learning volleyball service skill than blocked or random practice schedules. 30 students (mean age 23±4 yr, 3 groups and each 10 subjects) participated in this study. The groups were different in practices of the three services. Subjects performed simple, overhead and single arm skills from a distance (9 m from the volleyball net) with different practices. Each participant practiced 108 trials of each service, totally 324 trials during 9 sessions (each session 36 trials). The results indicated that incremental practice resulted in a better performance in retention and transfer tests than blocked and random practices (P˂0.05). In general, it was suggested that the practice should be scheduled so that it can start from low interference and gradually and systematically continues towards high interference in order to facilitate learning of several generalized motor skills.    

Abstract The aim of this research was to determine the effect of selective exercise training on reducing the symptom of hypotonia and changing body composition in Down syndrome adults. The research was performed in Nemoneh Disability Rehabilitation Centre of Tehran. 24 men with Down syndrome (mean age 26.185± 3.933) were randomly assigned to either a control (n=11) or an experimental group (n=13). The Experimental groups followed selective exercise training for 12-weeks, three times a week. Result of this research showed that after 12 weeks selective exercise training, body fat percent had a significant reduction (P<0.05) and soft lean mass and muscle performance (in 5 from 6 tests for assess muscle strength, endurance and power) had a significant increase (P<0.05). The results of this study showed that this type of exercise training significantly improves the health of Down syndrome adults by reduce in extra body fat percent and increase in muscles tissue and performance and in this way; it will reduce the symptoms of Down syndrome for benefit of improved physical health.

Abstract The vital role of exercise in many aspects of daily life and somewhat cognitive
functions are acknowledged but a point that has recently gained researchers'
attention is to investigate the effect of different types of exercises on cognitive
functions and the mediating mechanisms of this effect. The aim of this study was to
determine the effect of two types of endurance and resistance exercises on the
levels of attention and BDNF of sedentary students. Therefore, 46 sedentary
students from University of Tehran (mean age 24.3+1.8 yr) were assigned to three
groups: endurance, resistance and control after the Stroop pretest. After blood
samples had been collected, the subjects continued their exercise protocol for five
weeks. Finally, at least 48 hours after the last session, the Stroop test was
performed and blood samples were collected in order to eliminate the temporary
effects of exercises. For data analysis, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, paired sample t
test, one–way ANOVA, MANOVA test, Dunnett's T3 post hoc test and Pearson
correlation coefficient test were used (P≤0.05). Results showed a significant
improvement in the response time of Stroop test in both endurance and resistance
groups while expression of BDNF significantly increased only in endurance group
(P<0.05). The control group showed no improvement in any variables. In addition,
there was no significant difference between the effect of two types of exercise on
the response time of the Stroop test and expression of BDNF (P>0.05). There was
no significant correlation between the variations of response time of the Stroop test
and expression of BDNF (P>0.05). Finally, this research indicated that exercise
can improve cognitive functions, but there was no significant difference between
endurance and resistance exercises in response to this question that which activity
was more useful.

Abstract This research was performed to compare the effect of various levels of contextual interference (blocked, random and increasing practice schedules) on acquisition, retention and transfer of movement time error and cursor error in a complex motor – perceptual task. For this purpose, 30 female students (age range of 11 – 13 years) participated in a pretest (3 parts of 12 trials) and based on their pretest scores, they were divided into 3 homogeneous groups: blocked, random and increasing. The participants performed the guidance and click by mouse tasks in accordance with their groups. 4 days after the pretest, the participants performed 288 trials (12 trials in 18 parts) in the acquisition phase and after 24 hours, they participated in retention and transfer phases (12 trials in 3 parts). Movement time error (MTE) and cursor error (CU) were analyzed separately for acquisition, retention and transfer phases by analysis of variance 3×4 and Tukey post hoc test. The result showed a significant difference (P=0.00) in the movement time error between the acquisition phases with confidence level of 99%, but there was no significant difference (P=0.29) in the cursor error. Also, there was no significant difference among the three groups in the acquisition, retention and transfer.

Abstract  Researchers use resiliency for people who do not show undesirable consequences in terrible and unsafe conditions. Resiliency is often referred to constructive and positive compatibility in order to deal with problems. As athletes cannot cope with their defeats most of the time, they should study this issue and its interaction and acquisition. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and the resiliency in Iranian premier league wrestlers. For this purpose, 80 Iranian premier league wrestlers participated in this study. They were asked to fill out the Persian version of Schutte self–report EI test (SSREIT) and Connor and Davidson resiliency (CD–RISC 2) questionnaire. Mean age of all athletes was 23.8 with standard deviation of 2.85. The results showed a positive and significant relationship between the overall scores of EI and resiliency (P<0.01). Also, there was a positive and significant relationship between the subscales of EI and resiliency (P<0.01). Simultaneous regression analysis results showed that the subscale of perception and expression of emotions had a significant contribution towards explaining and predicting resiliency (P<0.01). Emotion regulation subscale significantly predicted resiliency (P<0.01). Overall, it can be concluded that EI is an effective factor in predicting and improving resiliency of the Iranian premier league athletes and wrestlers and it can increase resiliency of athletes.

Abstract There is no doubt that augmented feedback has an important role in improving
learning. However, it is the content of the feedback which is challenging. The aim
of the present study was to examine the effect of feedback on successful versus
unsuccessful trials on simple and complex tracking tasks. For this purpose, 48
undergraduate right-handed male and female students of Hakim Sabzevari Teacher
Training University (mean age = 23+1.8 yr) were selected from those students who
had taken general physical education course and were randomly divided into four
groups (N=12) of feedback on successful and unsuccessful trials in simple and
complex tasks. The tracking task was designed in two levels (simple and complex)
in a computer software format to be performed by the participants with maximum
speed and the lowest number of errors. During the acquisition phase, participants
performed 7 blocks of 6 trials in 8 days and they received feedback on two trials.
The method of research was quasi–experimental and ANOVA for multiple factors,
analysis of variance with repeated measures and Bonferroni post hoc test (P˂0.05)
were used for data analysis. The results showed that in the acquisition test, the
main effects of trial days and task complexity (in movement time) were significant.
These factors did not significantly influence movement error and their interaction.
In immediate retention test, the effects of the type of task and feedback (in
movement time) were significant while these factors did not significantly influence
movement error and their interaction. In delayed retention test, the effect of the
type of task was significant in movement time and movement error. The types of
feedback and task were significant in transfer test (in movement time) and these
factors and their interactions were not significant in movement error. The results
suggested that the types of feedback and task can be regarded as effective
independent factors in learning. The types of feedback and task were more effective
for movement time.

Abstract It is important for people to improve cognitive and motor performance. The purpouse of this study was to investigate the effect of running on treadmill in spatial memory and learning and motor performance. 24 Albino-Wistar healthy male rats were randomly divided into control and activity groups. Activity group ran 7 days on treadmill (speed 22m/min 30 minutes a day). After the end of activity period, Morris Water Maze and open-field tests were done to respectively assess spatial learning and motor performance. It was used latency time, and distance moved to find platform to assess spatial learning, and distance moved, mobility duration, and movement speed to assess motor activity. It was used SEM±M and analyze variance (2groups*3days) and independent-t tests to analyze data.Results indicated that In spatial learning, activity group was significantly better in acquisition (distance moved F₂,₄₄=6/578  p=0/003 and latency time F₂,₄₄=10/550, p=0/000 ), probe (time spend in target quarter t₂₂=2/534 , p=0/019), and retrieval tests (distance moved t₂₂=2/651, p-0/015) than control group. In motor activity there was no significant difference between two groups.The results of this study show that the forced running of rats on treadmill for a week can improve learning and memory.

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the effect of motivational self-talk as one of the psychological strategies. Motivational self-talk is a type of self-talk that appears to improve performance and control arousal level through increased drive and effort and positive motivation in performance. This study tried to investigate the effect of motivational self-talk on performance of simple and complex skills. Using a quasi-experimental method, 42 physical education students (20-25 years old who had passed basketball 1 and 2 units) were selected to participate in this study. Then, they were randomly divided into two equal groups (experimental and control) and completed a 15-minute warm-up and task practice. Firstly, the subjects performed a pre-test (without self-talk) including basketball passing test (AAHPERD, 1996) as simple skill and basketball passing test (AAHPERD, 1984) as complex skill. Then, the participants performed a post-test using self-talk with the above tests. Statistical analysis was performed using independent t test and paired sample t test by SPSS 11.5 at ??0.05. The results showed no significant difference between experimental and control groups in pre-test in the performance of simple (P=0.703) and complex (P=0.512) skills so both group were at the same level of performance. Motivational self-talk improved the simple skill in the experimental group (P=0.001). A significant difference (in favour of experimental group) was observed in the improvement of the simple skill in the post-test of both groups (P=0.004). Also, motivational self-talk improved the performance of complex skill in the experimental group (P=0.001). A significant difference (in favour of experimental group) was observed in the improvement of the complex skill in the post-test of both groups (P=0.048). The mean difference in the simple task (? x =0.94) and in the complex task (? x =0.48) between the two groups showed that the mean difference of simple skill was higher than the complex skill. Generally, the results showed that motivational self-talk improve the performance of both skills while it influenced simple skill more than complex skill.

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate differences in stress coping styles between athletic and non-athletic students with high and low self-esteem. For this purpose, 465 students (118 females and 347 males, mean age 23.58+3.20 years) were selected by available sampling method. The questionnaire of coping styles (Dadsetan et al. 1384) and self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1987) were used to evaluate the variables of coping styles and self-esteem. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and MANOVA statistical models. The findings showed a significant difference in sport condition among coping styles. Also, a significant difference existed in self-esteem levels among coping styles. There was a significant interaction between sport condition and self-esteem in these coping styles. The findings showed that non-athletes with low self-esteem, non-athletes with high self-esteem, athletes with low self-esteem and athletes with high self-esteem respectively used lowest to highest level of active coping style. There was an interaction between physical activity level and self-esteem level in inflexible coping styles. Non-athletes used this coping style almost to the same extent. Athletes with high self-esteem and athletes with low self-esteem respectively used this coping style more than other groups.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a selected motor program (as a motor experience) on manipulative skills in 4-6-year-old boys. 40 subjects were selected randomly using a personal information questionnaire. After the pretest, the Ulrich's test of Gross Motor Development (2000) including fundamental motor skills, locomotors skills, manipulative skills and controlling instruments was used and the subjects were randomly divided into two groups of selected motor program (age: 58.9 months, SD: 8.57); one of these groups experienced the activities of researcher's selected motor program 24 sessions, 30 minutes per session while the other group (control) enjoyed their casual activities. After 24 sessions, two groups participated in the posttest. To test the hypotheses, Kolmogorov-Smirnov and independent and dependent t student tests were used. The results showed that a selected motor program had more effects on the development of manipulative skills when compared with casual activities (P<0.05). It is suggested to design a special training program and to enrich children's environment so that better training opportunities can be provided to develop their manipulative skills which are the basis and foundation of their technical and sport skills.